


Whole-Grain Buckwheat Bread

by blueelvewithwings



Series: Spanking Sunday [28]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Aftercare, Cuddling & Snuggling, M/M, Multi, Non-Sexual Spanking, Panic Attacks, Routine, Spanking, Therapeutic spanking, autistic!Ray, neurodivergent!Mick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-21 10:52:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18141257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueelvewithwings/pseuds/blueelvewithwings
Summary: The whole team knows that Ray relies heavily on routine. That doesn't matter that they always respect that need though. This day is an especially bad day, but in the end, Len and Mick are there to help him through it. And to make sure that they uphold their part of the routine.





	Whole-Grain Buckwheat Bread

**Author's Note:**

> // _Disclaimer:_ I am not on the autism spectrum myself, my beta for this fic, however, is. As such, this is written with an outside view on autism with input from someone with first-hand experiences. Autism is a broad spectrum, and as such the traits you find depicted here may or may not correlate with another individual's experiences, habits and needs. I do not claim that my depiction is _right_ in any form or shape, it is simply an image of the way I perceive some forms of autism to work from an outside perspective. Enjoy reading, and I'm always open to constructive criticism~

In hindsight, it had been clear from the start that it wasn‘t a good day for Ray. Mick knew that Ray  had a thing , and that he needed some things done differently, but he didn’t normally put a lot of thought into it. When they’d gotten together, Ray had sat them both down and told them about his altruism or whatever it was called, and how he needed a lot of structure in his day and in his life, and how he sometimes got overwhelmed by things that retro-typical people wouldn’t even spend a second thought on. Lenny had listened intently and even taken notes, and Mick had found him googling some things Ray had told them about. He made Mick read some articles on neurodivergency too, but Mick found that he didn’t really care. For him it was easier to think of Ray as just Ray, and if Ray needed structure in his day then that was just Ray’s thing. Mick didn’t need fancy terms and ten different scientific approaches for that. He knew that Ray always ate the same type of bread with the same toppings for breakfast, and he always had a glass of orange juice with it. Mick found it a little bit funny sometimes that Len was the one who insisted that Mick learn more about Haircut’s autism, but that it was Mick who unfailingly remembered to ask Gideon to fabricate more whole-grain buckwheat bread if they were running low and going out to get some was not an option. It wasn’t that Mick didn’t care about the mechanisms of Ray’s behaviour and his needs, it was more that he knew he’d feel overwhelmed with so many words and so much fancy language. He didn’t need to know the Latin name for always needing the same bread for breakfast. 

So really, he should have known things wouldn’t work out well when he came into the mess hall to find Pretty Boy munching away on the last slice of whole-grain buckwheat bread, oblivious to Haircut standing next to him and staring at him helplessly. By the time he’d manage to coax Gideon into fabricating the exact type of bread that was needed, Ray’s hands were shaking, but he still smiled at Mick gratefully as he tucked into his newly-made breakfast. Mick put it aside as a singular incident and kissed Ray’s right temple (always the right one, the left one was for Len’s kisses) before going to his room and cleaning his gun. Hunting abbreviations meant he needed a smoothly working heat gun, after all. Somewhere along the line Haircut joined him, blabbering on about some technical thing or other that he was working on that went straight over Mick’s head. He’d learned early on though that he didn’t need to reply or even properly listen, but that it just helped Ray to have a verbal outlet for his thoughts. And really, the guy never shut up. Len sometimes teased them and said that every word that Mick didn’t say had been given to Ray instead. When Mick had only grunted while Ray had given a five-minute speech as a reply, Lenny had nearly doubled over from laughing. It had been the most beautiful sight.

Len came to collect them at some point, as Sara had called them onto the bridge for a team meeting. Haircut nervously checked his watch, but went with them without a comment. Mick knew that he was worried he wouldn’t make it back to his lab for the two hours of sciency time he always put in before lunch. He also knew that Sara tried to respect Ray’s schedule as much as she could, so it must be important if she called them all on deck like this.

And of course, it turned out to be another abrasion that was somehow suddenly threatening the entire area they were in. Seeing Ray’s longing glance towards his lab, Mick was almost tempted to tell Sara to shove it and stay behind with Haircut and Len, but he also didn’t want to die, so they all ended up marching out of the Waverider, fully suited up.

Len’s ass really should be forbidden in those pants, it looked great.

Haircut seemed more distracted than usual, somehow, but Len and Mick seemed to be the only ones noticing that he almost never scored a solid hit with their enemy. He usually was very precise, and Mick knew that he prided himself on hitting with high precision, but he couldn’t spare many thoughts for his partner while he also had to make sure to torch everything that came in his way and place a few well-aimed fists in some faces. Really, the Legion of Doom should go fuck itself already. Especially after the stunt they’d pulled with past-Len.

Eventually, their problem was dispatched, and Pretty Boy loudly called for all of them to stay and celebrate. Mick could almost feel Ray’s longing to go back into their room and have his quiet reading time, but he also knew that their nerd would be too polite to excuse himself early. Mick didn’t have such qualms, so he went and fixed a late lunch for the three of them. Ray was very particular about his meal times and not ever skipping a meal, but he would refuse to eat if he was the only one eating, so that automatically put Mick and Lenny on a strict schedule as well. It was doing Len some good though, the guy was finally eating properly for the first time in his life. 

Of course, they were out of lettuce, and Gideon was out of fabrication liquid, so Mick had to go and present Haircut with a plateful he knew wasn’t going to fit in with what he always had. He still kissed Ray’s left temple before sitting down next to Len and tucking in. Late lunch and lunch missing a part would still be better than no lunch, he thought. Len rolled his eyes at him in a way that said he’d have been fine just waiting for dinner, but at Mick’s growl he obediently started eating as well. Sometimes Mick felt like those two were still little children, really.

He could see Haircut become more agitated as the day went on, could almost feel his distress at everyone talking at the same time and loudly laughing together. Amaya seemed a bit confused when Ray curled up in his seat and started to hold his ears closed, but everyone else just ignored him. They knew that he wouldn’t leave until exactly six p.m., not now that they were in the ‘general hanging out’ phase of the day already. Mick sat down next to Haircut with his beer, but was careful not to touch him. ‘Sensatory override’ or something, Haircut called it, and he’d explained that when he was overwhelmed already, every additional sensation felt almost painful. So Mick just sat there, ready to drag Ray off at six p.m. sharp just like every day. No one knew what happened when all three of them would disappear and only re-emerge for dinner later, and no one had ever asked. Mick wasn’t sure if he should be glad or upset about that.

The little clock that Gideon projected on the wall told him that it was still ten minutes to six, and he shared a glance with Len who got up and kissed the air next to Ray’s left temple. “I’m going to go prep already, Mick will bring you back with him at six,” he whispered, then kissed Mick’s left temple before leaving. Damn habits. Mick preferred his kisses on the lips.

Ray was shaking beside him, his lip trembling, but he managed to hold the tears back still.

“You know it’s okay to leave earlier, right?” He knew that sometimes offering an out and clearly spelling it out would help Ray take the chance, and he tried to get over himself as often as possible to actually spell it out to Haircut and spread it out in front of him in words. Words weren’t Mick’s forte, never were, never would be, but for his Lenny and his Haircut, he’d always try his best.

This time, he only got a tiny nod, immediately followed by the shake of his head. So yes, he knew it was okay to leave, but he still wouldn’t do it, apparently. Mick had learned by now that it wasn’t always an active choice that Ray was making in these situations, but that he just couldn’t do it, sometimes. He didn’t really understand why, despite Len trying to explain it to him several times, but just accepting that it was like that was enough for him. It was just another one of Ray’s things, just like the whole-grain buckwheat bread for breakfast.

So Mick just grunted in reply and took another ten minutes to empty his beer bottle before he let his hand close around Ray’s upper arm, hard. It was six p.m., and this was the ritual they never missed.

“Alright, Haircut. Let’s go.”

Ray was still trembling and shaking, but he managed to get his feet under himself enough to follow along with Mick. Nate and Amaya were both staring by now, and had probably been for a while, but Mick didn’t care. If they made a stupid comment he’d remove some of their teeth, part of one team or no. Sara was glaring at him, as if wanting to chastise him for dragging Ray away, but when he pointed to the clock that showed 6:00 p.m. she relaxed and gave him a nod. She didn’t quite understand what Ray was going through, Mick thought, but just like himself she accepted it as a given and tried to be as mindful as she could of Haircut’s needs. She was much better than the Englishman had been at that – if he ever saw him again Mick would confront him with the business end of his gun just for some of the shit he’d pulled on them. Playing Lenny and himself against one another, disrespecting Haircut in his needs. The guy was an ass, Mick was glad they had Blondie holding the reins now.

Ray didn’t speak as Mick dragged him back to their room, but by the time they’d reached it at 6:02 p.m., he was already breathing a little more easily. Lenny had been busy and had put on fresh sheets for the night already and set out lotion and a paddle on the pillow. There was a chair facing the bed and all their stuff had been tidied and put away. Haircut tended to feel a lot more comfortable in tidy spaces, and Len often had to be the buffer between Ray’s need for cleared up spaces and Mick’s inherent messiness. Mick tried to be better and at least limit his cluttering and his mess to his work room, but he didn’t always succeed. The fresh sheets were a Lenny thing though, he needed to sleep in fresh sheets every night. Mick would sometimes prefer the softer, lived-in feeling of sheets that had been used for a while already, but he never said anything. He wanted his partners to be happy, after all. 

As always, Mick sat down on the bed as Ray took off his pants and neatly folded them over the back of a chair that was still standing at the table. Len sat down across from Mick on the chair facing the bed, and then Haircut draped himself over Mick’s lap, reaching down with one arm to steady himself on the bed and keeping the other behind his back so Mick could hold it there. Mick took Haircut’s wrist and pinned it to the small of his back, then used his free hand to press down between Ray’s shoulder blades.

“A hundred with the paddle to start with, as usual, and then we’ll see what you still need?” Lenny asked, and Ray nodded enthusiastically. Mick could feel his breathing still being off, and he was sure that Haircut was still a little bit frazzled and caught up in his breakdown, but they all knew that he needed this. Somehow, with all the hunting bad guys and weird schedules and random celebrations and losing team members and finding them again they had managed to never miss this one part of their routine. At six in the evening, Ray would get at least a hundred spanks with a paddle, and he had gotten them ever since he first confided in them that physical things in his routine helped him stay grounded and keep a clear head, and that he was very interested in pursuing kinky things with them.

Mick gave Ray a little pat as Len grabbed the paddle, and then they started. It was always the same  with these kinds of spankings , Mick holding Haircut down while Len administered the spanking. Not that Haircut needed to be held down, he was eager for the spanking and would hold still by himself, but he liked being restricted like this, not by ropes or cuffs but by his partners’ hands, and he had expressed several times that he wanted all three of them to take part in the spanking. Len and Mick had randomly switched places several times, but it never felt right. So they had it down to a system, now. Lenny gave Haircut the therapeutic spankings and the maintenance spankings, and Mick dished out the punishments and the happy spankings. Today was clearly meant to be grounding for Ray, to get him out of the headspace he was in and to help him slip back into his routine that had been so lost for the rest of the day. 

Mick felt Haircut’s body jolt under his hands every time Lenny’s paddle hit, but he could tell that Len wasn’t putting all his force into them. Sometimes Ray needed to be eased into his spankings, especially when they weren’t supposed to feel like a punishment, and that was why those were always Lenny’s to dish out. He had a much better feeling for what was needed. Mick lacked the subtlety for it, sometimes. And Haircut, for all his words, often couldn’t say what he needed either.

He could feel the last sobs dying down in Ray’s chest as he relaxed into the familiarity of the spanking, and soon all that could be heard was the slap of padded leather on skin and the hitch in Ray’s breath that it caused. They rotated counting the spanks, and this evening it was Lenny’s turn. Len’s voice stayed totally even as he counted out the spanks, but his eyes sparkled when he was looking at Mick and smiled. He was clearly enjoying himself. Mick couldn’t help but to smile back at him. They had been married for almost twenty-five years now, and nothing had made them as mushy and touchy-feely as the addition of their nerdy scientist to their relationship.

Mick knew that Ray sometimes felt like he wasn’t a full part of their relationship, and that he was more work than he was worth. Neither Len nor Mick felt like that, and they both did their best to show Ray that they wanted him with them, as a full member of their trio, with all the ticks and  quirks that  he had. 

“Doin’ good, Haircut,” Mick praised him at the 25-spanks mark and moved his hand to run through that soft, dark hair. “Takin’ it so well, your ass is turning so nice and pink already.”

“A good boy indeed, and all for us,” Len agreed and paused in his spanking to place a hand on Ray’s shoulder for a moment. Neither of them could see his face, but Mick was sure that Haircut was smiling.

“Thank you… thank you.” Came the muffled comment from where he was lying with his face in the pillow, and Len patted his shoulder once more before resuming his spanking.

“Twenty-six. What do you think we should do tomorrow? Twenty-seven. I was thinking we could check out that park that Boy Scout here never shuts up about? Twenty-eight. With the special trees?”

“Redwoodtrees!” Haircut supplied from the bed, his free hand eagerly flailing about as if he couldn’t wait to show them and talk about how great they were for the hundredth time. Mick just knew they got really big, but he’d gladly listen to Haircut happily ramble along another time.

“So that’s a yes from Ray then, I take it. Thirty.”

“Yes from me too.” Not that Mick really cared about trees much beyond their burning properties, but he knew that both Lenny and Haircut would love it, and he was happy if they were happy, so he’d gladly come with them.   
“Thirty-one. Great. That’s set then.” He brought the paddle down a little harder then, jolting Haircut in his lap so much he started slipping the tiniest bit, but Mick immediately grabbed him and pulled him back up. They were pros at this by now, after all.

“Thanks, Mick.” Haircut’s voice was still muffled, but sounded clearer and relaxed already. It was amazing, every time again, what some downtime and a good spanking could do to Ray’s mood.

“Sure thing, Haircut.” Mick shared a smile with Len again, and then Len leaned over on the next spank and gave Mick an impulsive kiss on the lips. Mick quickly let his tongue dart out and lick over Len’s lips when he pulled back again, and Len chuckled a little as he sat back down.

“Wha-?”

“Just Mick here wanting to take more than he’s being - Thirty-nine - given, Boy Scout,” Len explained, earning a hum from Ray. It still felt weird to Mick sometimes that he always wanted to know exactly what was going on around him, but with all other things, they’d easily adjusted. He thought it was weird when people said they’d done such a good job, and that they wouldn’t be able to take care of ‘someone like Dr. Palmer.’ Mick had been mostly confused at first, thinking that they didn’t take care of Haircut, they were in a relationship with him, and adjusting to each other was what you did in a relationship, and by the time he’d gotten to the implications and gotten angry, Len had already punched the offender’s lights out. Mick had put his anger away for later and moved straight to comforting Haircut by provocatively putting an arm around him and taking his hand while staring down anyone who might say a thing against their Haircut. He hated public affection, but he knew that it could calm other people down, and with Haircut, it often helped. He’d burned some shit behind the Waverider later that day, and Haircut had sat behind him and watched in silence for once, and that time it had felt completely natural when their hands had linked together and their fingers had entwined. 

Still, it wasn’t weird at all that they could deal with Haircut so well. He was a great guy, and both Mick and Len had more mushy feelings for him than they cared to admit, so they made it work. And sure, Haircut had more things than most other people, and some things didn’t make sense to Mick, but he thought it didn’t really matter. It didn’t make up the whole of who Ray was, as a person. When he’d told  Pretty  as much, he’d just scoffed and said that he didn’t think Mick could really think that deeply.  Pretty hadn’t been at dinner then, and had sported a shiner the exact size and shape of Len’s fist the next day. Mick didn’t ever say it, but he was sometimes pathetically grateful that Lenny understood him so well and looked out for him. Words weren’t something he dealt with well, so he’d never be able to defend himself to someone like Nate Heywood. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t offended or hurt by the things they said about him, though. Luckily both Lenny and Haircut could handle words much better than him, and soon they were an unstoppable force together. Once Sara joined in in reprimanding everyone who talked down to Mick after she’d stopped doing so herself, they soon got the others to stop as well. 

Really, they were all just looking out for one another. This wasn’t a case of Mick and Len taking Ray in like a charity case.  A utumn or not, Haircut was a great person and that’s what they wanted him for. 

“Mick, still with us? Fifty-two.” Len’s voice pulled him out of his musings, and he realised he’d missed his fifty-spanks mark.

“Yeah. I… yeah. You doin’ well, Haircut?”

“Mh, feels relaxing”, Ray murmured into his pillow, sounding a bit floaty and happy already.

“Good. This is supposed to be stress-relief after all. Fifty-three”, Len responded, but his eyes were still on Mick. It wasn’t often that Mick spaced out, and it wasn’t always a good sign. But this time, it had nothing to do with fire at all. He didn’t know what had tossed him down that memory lane. Maybe it was the way Nate and Amaya had been staring at Ray as if he’d been annoying and should pull himself together. Well, they could think Mick too dumb to understand anything if they wanted. Mick got how Ray ticked. So it shouldn‘t be that hard for them to get it, really.

. They only needed to try a little harder, really.

Mick gave a little shake of his head to indicate that Lenny didn’t need to be worried and gently patted Haircut’s shoulder. “You’ll be a puddle before we’re done with you, just you wait.”

“Mh… will I get puddle cuddles then?”

“You sure will, as always, love.” Mick was still amazed at how easily Len could let that endearment slip in private now, how much being with openly affectionate and loving Ray had thawed them both.

“Good… I like the cuddles… I always wan’ your cuddles.”

“And you always get them, Haircut.”

There was happy humming from Haircut, and he rolled his head to the side so he could turn it just enough to look at Len.

“Lotion, too?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t let you go to dinner or to bed without lotion.” Mick had never seen Len so patient with anyone as he was with Ray. Ray often asked the same things again and again, needing to be reassured that things would remain the same. With everyone else, Len would have long since told them to shove it and tossed them out, but with Ray he just smiled indulgently and answered his question.

Though Mick was being a little unfair now. Len had always had the patience of a saint with Lisa when she was still growing up. Now they mostly griped at one another, but in that way that spoke of love and a deep, strong bond that nothing would ever be able to tear apart.

“You’re so nice… thank you.”

For the rest of the spanking, Mick kept his hand resting on Haircut’s hair, gently stroking the soft locks. Haircut didn’t complain when sometimes his hair would catch on Mick’s callouses, and Mick tried very hard to be gentle and to not hurt him. Maybe he should really let Ray put some of that fancy lotion on his hands sometimes. He asked him if he wanted that quite often, but so far Mick had always turned him down.

Ray started flinching uncomfortably around the eighty-five spanks mark, but instead of stopping, Lenny simply mellowed out his spanks to make sure that they’d reach the full hundred. It was important to Haircut that he got at least a full hundred every night, so they’d found ways to make it work. It had seemed too weird at first, doing the same thing all over and over again, and Mick had been so sure that he’d been bored after a while, but it was different every day, and it never stopped being interesting. And somehow, it had become quality time for them. Sometimes they’d chat all the time throughout, sometimes they were silent. Sometimes, when he didn’t need the intensity but just the routine, Haircut would even continue reading, propped up over Mick’s lap, while Len spanked him. Sometimes he’d feel adventurous and bend over the desk instead, and sometimes he’d rut into Mick’s thigh with each strike, driving all three of them mad with desire.

“Ninety-nine, and a hundred. That’s it, love. You did so well!”

Len stood, careful not to jostle Haircut in Mick’s lap, and went to put the paddle to the side while Mick helped pull Haircut up into a kneeling position. Soon, he was enveloped in long limbs, and Ray just sighed happily as he snuggled into Mick and rested his head on his shoulder.

“You two’re the best” he mumbled, and Mick just wrapped his arms around him in return and gently guided them to lie down.

“You want Lenny to put cream on you already?” he asked as he saw Len standing there with the jar ready to go, but he could feel Haircut shake his head against the side of his neck.

“Puddle cuddles first.”

Lenny grinned and put the jar back down before climbing in with both of his partners, sandwiching Ray between them.

“Alright, but no falling asleep. I heard the pizza place Sara wants to order from for dinner also has gluten free options.”

“Mh, but cheese.”

“Lactose free cheese is a thing, Boy Scout.”

“Mh… yeah. I wan’ m’shrooms.”

“Yeah, you can tell her yourself, later, love.”

Mick just shared another smile with Len and then pulled Haircut a little closer to himself, hugging him tightly. They were all silent as Haircut floated, but Mick could tell from the dopey smile on his face that he was feeling much better already. Sometimes a good spanking was just what he needed, and Mick was always happy that they could provide just that. He could feel Len’s hand sliding into his own after a while, and easily linked their fingers together. Haircut had made them soft, and maybe that was one of the things he loved most about him, that he’d managed to make two grumpy old men open their hearts for love again.

When Haircut started stirring again after a while he leaned in and kissed down the back of his neck. “You good, Haircut?”

“Yeah… I think you said something about pizza?” Len let out a snort of laughter and gave Haircut a gentle slap on the shoulder.

“Trust you and Mick to think about food first thing. But yeah, pizza. You said you wanted mushrooms?”

“Did I… I do though. I like mushrooms. No cheese at all though. Last time they didn’t manage the lactose-free thing.” Mick still remembered that time, and how they’d stayed up all night to try and cope with Haircut’s stomach pains.

“Mushrooms are good. I want meat on mine, don’t care what,” Mick supplied, and with that it was left to Len to climb out of bed to inform Sara of their choice. He rolled his eyes, because that was how it always went, but gave them both a kiss before sliding out.

“You gonna be good with just Mick for now, Boy Scout?” Mick knew exactly what face Ray was making, trying to figure out how he’d feel about a certain thing happening. After just a few moments though he nodded and snuggled back into Mick.

“Mick can put lotion on my ass soon and then we can come after you.”

Len nodded and gave them both a wink before leaving the room and sliding the door closed behind him again. Ray relaxed back into Mick with a happy sigh.

“You two are so good to me… and you always listen to what I say, even though I’m autistic.” Ah yeah, that was the word. Ray’s thing. Like, his big thing.

Mick just shrugged and propped himself up on one elbow. “Doesn’t make you less important or less of a person, Haircut. We all have our things. Yours comes with more tics, but I don’t care. You’re our Haircut.” He wasn’t sure if that came out right or if the words he’d said would end up conveying something else than he meant, but from the sheen in Ray’s eyes and his bright smile he had managed to say the right thing.

“I love you too, Mick,” he whispered, then reached out to pick up the jar of cream.

“Put lotion on me? And then we can go check on Len to make sure he gets something for himself as well and doesn’t end up stealing everyone else’s pieces.”

They ended up taking a while after all, with Mick taking his time to spread the lotion on Haircut’s red behind and Haircut massaging a generous blob of the cream into Mick’s hands afterwards.

“It’s important to not let your callouses dry out so much that they break open. That’ll hurt,” he informed Mick, as if he didn’t already know that. But they made it out in time for dinner, and Len had miraculously managed to also order something for himself. Mick assumed it had something to do with the fact that Sara had jumped onto the ‘make sure Leonard Snart eats properly’ train and had bugged him until he’d told her his order. Jax told everyone that he’d refilled Gideon’s fabricator liquid that afternoon, so Mick knew that breakfast was also saved. He’d make sure to have Gideon fabricate the much-needed whole-grain buckwheat bread before they turned in for the night. He turned to Lenny next to him who had Haircut draped over his lap, and he didn’t know how he got there, and how it had happened, but it was perfect, really. 

He couldn’t imagine being more happy than this, with these two men at his side.


End file.
